1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to image analysis data extraction apparatus and methods and more specifically to image analysis and data extraction apparatus and methods where the data is related to coordinate locations of an image or images under analysis.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
It has often been desirable to electronically extract information from images of features or objects. Specifically, these images may relate to particles viewed under a microscope, topography feature photographs such as a satellite photograph of lakes, or microscopic cellular images. Basic image scanning techniques for extracting this information is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,028 entitled Methods of and Apparatus foe Determing the Quantity and Physical Parameters of Objects, issued Apr. 16, 1974 for inventor Roger R. A. Morton and U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,357 entitled Threshold Circuit for Converting a Video Signal to a Binary Video Signal, issued Oct. 2, 1973 for inventor Roger R. A. Morton. These patents disclose systems for scanning the image repeatedly with a raster scan using a television camera or similar device and processing the video signal from the television camera to produce signals corresponding to the intensity profile along the scan lines. These signals can then be processed by a variety of means.
Prior inventions, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,810 entitled Intercept Scanning System issued Apr. 5, 1966 for inventor David A. Williams, have disclosed methods for extracting data on all features within the field of view and accumulating the data by sorting it into counters. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,810, the time at which the data is extracted corresponds to the time at which the measurement was completed and it was not keyed on any specific predetermined point in the field. However, patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,494,441 entitled Method and Apparatus for Electronically Determining Particle Size Distribution, issued Jan. 10, 1950 for inventor James Hillier accumulated data over an entire field of view or accumulated data at the time it occurred. The point of extraction corresponds to the time at which, for example, a certain event related to the generation of the data was determined to have occurred.
Other techniques have also been disclosed in the prior art, for extracting data from specific points in a field of view. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,493 entitled Apparatus for Direct Electronic Measurement of Images, issued Feb. 11, 1975 for inventor Roger R. A. Morton information is made to correspond to areas extracted in a single point on a feature. However, in that specific reference example, the data extraction is limited to area.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,028 entitled Methods of and Apparatus for Determining the Quantity and Physical Parameters of Objects, has, for example, disclosed systems and techniques for releasing data accumulated on a feature during the scan line after the last intercept of the feature and has also disclosed methods for processing data extracted from successive scans from the same feature. Techniques having similar end results to these have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,494 entitled Counting Systems in Image Analysis Employing Line Scanning Techniques, issued Nov. 9, 1971 for inventor Colin Fisher and U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,604 entitled Image Analysis, issued Nov. 30, 1971 for inventor David Gibbard.
Previous systems have not extracted data during arbitrary fields of scan by keying the data transfer using information stored on an initial scan, nor have they extracted data from the field of view at any time, to thereafter be outputted with the keying data previously stored.